Time Signature You'll wish you were dead...

I really love Hell's Headbangers Records for being a label not afraid to release filthy and dirty music, and, while the full length releases by the artists on their roster are of course the main attractions, Hell's Headbangers actually release a lot of really interesting underground-styled relases such as splits, EPs, and reissued demos. One such release is the Crucified Mortals and Exorcism split, simply marketed as the Split 7".

The EP contains four songs distributed over three tracks, because the two Crucified Mortals-songs are contained within one track, while Exorcism's two songs are given a track each.

Crucified Mortals are among the finest death-thrash bands these days, and their eponymous 2011-debut has received praise for its all out thrash attack nature. Expecting something along the lines of that album you can imagine my surprise when, after a heavy introduction, 'Crippling the Will of Faith' explodes into a full-scale crust onslaught, complete with d-beating and Discharge-inspired leads. 'You'll Wish You Were Dead' is slightly more thrashy, but also leans more towards the crust side, and also seems quite inspired by Discharge and The Exploited.

Unlike the two Exorcism-trachs, which are extremely raw production-wise, these two songs are quite well produced and have a fat and brutal sound.

While not in the same style of thrash metal that Crucified Mortals are otherwise known for, 'Crippling The Will Of Faith / You'll Wish You Were Dead' shows that the Americans are more than capable of also playing brutal and simple crust.